Projects

"Because I have worked in the wildlife conservation field for over 35 years and have traveled extensively, people often ask me how they can contribute toward conservation efforts. Some of my favorite projects are included here for your review. I have worked with each of these projects to help them achieve their goals. Some are local programs and others are international efforts. Each has a clear vision and goals to achieve measurable results. They leverage support from various funding sources and collaborate to share resources." ~ Joan Embery

Serengeti wild dog conservation

Wild dogs are in decline across Africa. Once demonized and persecuted, they are now seen for what they are-amazing hunters with a complex social life. They range widely and today are one of the most endangered carnivores in Africa. It is important to monitor their numbers and better understand them to anticipate and hopefully prevent further decline.

Despite protection, the worldwide population continues to decline due to habitat loss, persecution, disease and competition with other large predators. The species has declined dramatically over the last century. Historically widely distributed throughout Africa outside the Central and Western forrest belt, today the species has completely disappeared from most of it's range, with its main strongholds concentrated in Southern and Eastern Africa. Tanzania is a critical country for wild dog conservation, as it holds about 20% of the global population. Like many African countries, Tanzania’s human population is growing rapidly. Outside protected areas wild dogs come into conflict with people, as they occasionally take livestock. Finding ways to minimize livestock loss and promote benefits from wild dogs is a critical challenge for the conservation of this species.

Several decades ago, wild dogs thrived in the Serengeti, but their population dwindled, in part because their territories regularly extend beyond park boarders-and it's protection. The Tanzania Wildlife Research Institute began an ambitious program of relocation and reintroduction of dogs from unprotected areas to the Serengeti. The project was initiated in 2000 and started officially in 2015. The goal is to release six groups of wild dogs comprising 60 wild dogs. The project involves close monitoring of the wild dogs which wear GPS collars for tracking. The Serengeti national park covers 5,700 square miles and is seen as the jewel of the nation. The park attracts thousands of tourists from all over the world.

California Mountain Lion OutreachAs our population continues to sprawl into rural areas, conflicts between humans and these magnificent predators are inevitable. To balance the demands for natural resources we will need to learn more about the little known lifestyle and habits of the mountain lion, its prey and other life forms that share its habitat. About one-half (80,000 sq. miles) of California is considered mountain lion habitat. However, California is steadily losing wildlands to development. The future of mountain lions in fragmented habitats depends on protecting critical habitat and connecting corridors. It is important that people understand their role in reducing conflicts with wildlife.​​The Embrey Institutue has partnered with the following organizations to work for better mountain lion conservation:Wildlife Health Center: wildlifehealthcenter.org, California Department of Fish & Wildlife wildlife.ca.gov, California State Parks parks.ca.gov, Zoological Society of San Diego sandiegozoo.org and The Anza-Borrego Institute theabf.org.

The Anza-Borrego FoundationConsidered by some to be a hostile wasteland, the desert to me holds a special charm. I grew up spending weekends camping under the stars, hiking the canyons and watching the sun set. Almost the entire southeast quarter of California is desert. Plants and animals living there are superbly adapted to life with little or no water. Mesquite, for example, can have roots over 100 feet long to reach water when available. Spring flowers bloom after winter rains in an array of brilliant colors. Mammals and reptiles seek shelter in underground burrows during extreme heat, emerging as the temperature drops. The magnificent bighorn sheep climb the rocky mountain faces with ease. The desert is abundant with amazing life forms.

My interest in the desert lead to my serving on the board of the Anza Borrego Foundation (ABF) for several years. Their mission is to promote conservation in the Anza-Borrego Desert State Park and the surrounding ecological region through land acquisition, education, interpretation and scientific studies. Since its founding in 1967, the ABF has acquired and transferred to Anza-Borrego Desert State Park over 35,000 acres of in-holdings (private parcels surrounded by park land) and other park resource properties. At just over 600,000 acres, the park is one of the largest state parks in the nation and annually attracts nearly one million visitors.

In 2003 ABF expanded its conservation mission with the creation of the Anza-Borrego Institute. It provides school camps, workshops, tours, and community programs on a broad range of topics. For more info go to www.theabf.org.

EnviroVet at the University of Illinois Department of Veterinary BiosciencesIn 2002 I enrolled in a course that gave me an amazing opportunity to share my passion of conservation and environmental health with 24 students from all over the United States and abroad. It was pivotal in cementing my own focus and dedication to increasing awareness for the environment and building partnerships. I met many young, intelligent, and passionate veterinarians and students who were dedicated to the mission of better understanding and desire to make a difference in the world. I have returned to teach during the course each year. This course began in 1991 with an aquatic ecosystem health focus and expanded in 2000 to include terrestrial and international components. Administered by the University of Illinois Department of Veterinary Biosciences; University of California, Davis, School of Veterinary Medicine; and Wildlife Health Center, it affords 25 students an emersion experience for 7 weeks, 60 to 70 hours per week in lecture hall and field. Faculty who are experts in their fields share their knowledge and experience. Hosts include The White Oak Plantation and Conservation Center in Yulee, Florida; Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute, Pt. Pierce, Florida; and a host country such as Kenya, Brazil or the Republic of South Africa. Experiences range from darting animals in the wild for disease sampling to radio telemetry, necropsy and water quality monitoring. In all it is a window into the challenges we face in sustaining a healthy planet and call to action. Scholarships for students are available. For more information visit http://vetmed.illinois.edu/envirovet/.

Kenya Wildlife ServiceWhile attending an Envirovet summer institute program I had the pleasure of meeting Dr. Elizabeth Wambwa, a veterinarian with the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS). We became tent mates while touring Kenya and shared some memorable times. I stayed on to observe a giraffe translocation she was working on in Nakuru. It was amazing to watch the process of identifying the correct giraffe, darting from a Landrover, securing a hood and ropes to guide it to a trailer for transport to a holding boma, release, and eventual loading into a truck for relocation. The capture team made it look simple. The sight of giraffes fording a stream in the back of a stake bed truck will forever be etched in my mind.Proper equipment is key to minimizing injury and stress. Seeing the need for KWS to acquire an appropriate trailer for this purpose, the “Embery Institute” appropriated funds for the construction of a giraffe field transport trailer. The Kenya Wildlife Service Veterinary Unit is based at the organization’s headquarters in Nairobi. The unit comprises the country’s most competent wildlife veterinarians, technicians, and animal capture staff. They can be mobilized quickly and work efficiently when funds, equipment and drugs are available. ‘They attend to wildlife cases in all parts of Kenya, involving a wide variety of species.

​The goal of the veterinary unit is to offer wildlife veterinary service nationally to ensure stable/growing healthy populations of wildlife within Kenya, assist in preventing habitat destruction by wildlife, and reduce human-wildlife conflict. They also prevent extinction of rare species by establishing viable breeding groups. Translocations of wildlife are incorporating into park management when necessary to set up endangered species breeding groups when decline threatens their existence; when it is necessary to move animals out of areas where they are causing deterioration of the ecosystem and/or overstocking has been confirmed to be a problem; and for introduction of wildlife species into national parks and reserves, ranches and conservation areas. Learn more and get involved at www.kws.go.ke.

The San Diego River Park FoundationI live along the banks of the San Diego River on a historic ranch site. My ranch has a 100 year-old barn and was once farmed along the banks extracting water from this valuable resource. Today the river rarely flows as it is dammed along its route to the ocean to provide precious water to a growing population. The San Diego River is a major geographic, biological, and historical feature within the San Diego environment. It originates 40 miles northeast of the Pacific Ocean at an elevation of approximately 3,700 feet. Along its journey to the ocean, it nurtures wild and scenic natural habitats, recreational areas, rich agricultural fields and a diverse pattern of residential, commercial, and industrial land uses. Its watershed encompasses some 400 square miles. From a time even before the recording of local history, the San Diego River has been a lifeline to the inhabitants of the San Diego region. In a desert seacoast plain, water is precious to human, animal and plant life.

When dams were built to capture the naturally flowing water, the river dried up below them, only coming to life during rare occurrences of excessive rain to remind us of its very existence. Its beauty marred by sand mining, materials extraction, dumping, intrusive non-native vegetation, and pollution, the river was ignored and threatened the health of humans and wildlife.

The San Diego River Park Foundation seeks to promote the stewardship of this important community and regional asset. As one of the few remaining corridors for wildlife and for connecting communities and open spaces, I feel this is an extremely important mission and therefore serve on the Board of Trustees. Our vision is to see the river restored to its former beauty and function to the benefit of all. Find out how you can help at www.sandiegoriver.org.

Veterinary Department of Tanzania's National ParksResponsibility for the healthcare of Tanzania’s abundant wildlife in 14 national parks comes under the Tanapa Veterinary Laboratory based in the Serengeti Park Headquarters. Though Tanzania’s commitment to preservation is admirable, the country is faced with many challenges as its population continues to rise. Agriculture increasing along park perimeters poses a threat of transmittable diseases from domestic livestock to free ranging wildlife. Monitoring disease trends will be increasingly important to insure the wellbeing of indigenous wildlife species. The veterinary department records deaths, screens kills, conducts post mortem necropsies on corpses, develops a data base, assists on all research immobilizations and inoculates livestock and pets surrounding park perimeters to control disease transmission. I met the chief veterinary officer, Dr. Titus Mlengeya, while on safari in the Serengeti Park in 1999 and was amazed by his overwhelming task and determination to succeed. He was also a fellow student in my 2002 Envirovet Course. Titus and his staff of veterinarians and technicians need basic veterinary supplies, lab equipment, books, computers, and tools to accomplish their tasks. Each year the Embery Institute for Wildlife Conservation collects supplies and ships them via a container made available by a missionary group based in the United States. They deliver the supplies to the Tanzania National Park’s home office in Arusha for pick up. In their world a little goes a long way to achieving their goals.

The Karen C. Drayer Wildlife Health CenterEstablished in 1992 and under the Direction of Dr. Walter Boyce and Dr. Jonna Mazet, the Wildlife Health Center, School of Veterinary Medicine, U. C. Davis (WHC), is dedicated to balancing the needs of people, wildlife, and the environment. The WHC tackles wildlife problems across many landscapes and seascapes... oceans, deserts, mountains, coastlines, and beyond.

​I met Dr. Walter Boyce on a fieldtrip tracking the elusive mountain lion in our local mountains at Rancho Cuyamaca State Park. I was fascinated with the challenging process of gathering valuable information to better understand these magnificent cats. With a growing population of both humans and lions and the limited resources, pressure was mounting to determine how to balance the needs of people and wildlife living in close proximity. Scientific data was lacking and policy makers were having to make decisions quickly. By collaring the lions, their primary prey - the mule deer and the endangered big horn sheep, a better picture of how the lions use the landscape began to evolve. Frequent satellite positions relayed from the collars revealed the animals’ habits and daily activities. Although I never saw a mountain lion that day, we were able to pick up transmitter signals of one in close proximity. I wondered how often hikers, horseback riders, campers, and rural homeowners had been in close proximity to this amazing predator and were totally unaware of its presence. We sometimes overlook the fact that we are just a small part of the environment around us. The southern California program brings together agencies such as the California Department of Fish and Game, the California Department of Parks and Recreation, and other stakeholders to solve problems. I liked their approach so I joined the advisory board of the Wildlife Health Center.​Scientific conservation efforts are often single species focused … “save the _____” but helping the environment is about more than saving just one species. It is about an ecosystem... all of the animals, the plants, the air, the water, the soil, and the people. All too often environmental research reflects the interest of one group – a non profit organization, a management agency, or other independent parties. A conservation based group may not look at issues important to industry and vice versa. The unintended consequences are duplication in scientific efforts, lack of coordination of stakeholders, and science that either sits on a library shelf or is bias for advocacy purposes. The WHC bridges the gaps between science and policy, industry and advocacy, problems and solutions – by getting key players together at the same table in a neutral setting bringing the people together to see the big picture. The WHC coordinates stakeholders and directs objective science to answer stakeholder based conservation questions. When conservation studies are completed the WHC brings the players back together again to share the objective scientific answers – in language that anyone on the street can understand - no PhD required. Get details at www.wildlifehealthcenter.org.

Help us help them

As a 501(c)3 non-profit organization, The Embery Institute for Wildlife Conservation relies on donations to fund it's programs. To donate or volunteer please get in touch.